Western Pictou County Economic Profile Background Information for Land Development Proposals
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2017 Western Pictou County Economic Profile Background Information for Land Development Proposals Town of Pictou PO Box 640, Pictou, NS B0K 1H0 4/13/2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Western Pictou County is a gateway community for our province. It is home to the Caribou/Wood Island Ferry which connects Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia. The Ferry passengers disembark onto Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) 106 which passes through Western Pictou County’s service center, the Town of Pictou. The Town services a catchment area of over 10,000 permanent residents and 475,000 annual ferry passengers. These numbers include the residents of River John, Scotsburn and Pictou. Between the residents and ferry passengers, $300M to $350M is expended annually. The resident population is employed by several sizable employers including Empire Company (Sobeys, Crombie REIT), Michelin Tires Canada, Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Limited, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Nova Scotia Power Corporation, MacGregor’s Industrial Group, MacKay Meters, Advocate Printing & Publishing, Northumberland Ferries Ltd, Aecon Fabco and others. Strong regional, national and international businesses receive and ship goods and services through the Trenton Airport, Northumberland Ferries, rail service, Pictou Marine Terminal and the Trans- Canada Highway network. The combination of services available and access to transportation enables ease of connection to the rest of Canada and the world. The location of lands abutting the Pictou roundabout provide high visibility and extensive traffic volumes. The potential customer and workforce base has above average income and educational characteristics relative to overall Nova Scotia statistics. Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. i CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Catchment Area ............................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2 Phased in Commercial Assessment ....................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 3 Activities in the Immediate Area .......................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 4 Relationship to Existing Businesses ..................................................................... 10 4.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Regional Businesses .................................................................................................... 11 4.3 Important Sectors of the Economy ............................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 5 Traffic Volumes .................................................................................................. 15 5.1 Regional Traffic Volumes ............................................................................................ 15 5.2 Pictou Rotary Traffic ................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 6 County Amenities .............................................................................................. 16 6.1 Access .......................................................................................................................... 16 6.2 Facilities, Institutions and Attractions ........................................................................ 17 6.3 Events .......................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 7 Households ........................................................................................................ 19 7.1 Households by Size and Type ...................................................................................... 19 7.2 Dwelling (Numbers, Age, Condition) .......................................................................... 20 7.3 Dwelling Types (Occupied) .......................................................................................... 21 7.4 Dwelling Size ............................................................................................................... 21 7.5 Type of Occupancy ...................................................................................................... 21 7.6 Dwelling Value & Rental Costs .................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 8 Demographics .................................................................................................... 23 8.1 Population ................................................................................................................... 23 8.2 Mobility ....................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 9 Labour Force Activity ......................................................................................... 25 9.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 25 9.2 Journey to Work.......................................................................................................... 25 9.2.1 Place of Work for Residents of Western Pictou County ................................. 25 9.2.2 Sources of Labour for Western Pictou County ............................................... 26 CHAPTER 10 Income and Expenditures ................................................................................... 27 10.1 Household Income ...................................................................................................... 27 10.2 Incidence of Low Income ............................................................................................ 28 10.3 Household Expenditures ............................................................................................. 29 CHAPTER 11 Education .......................................................................................................... 30 11.1 Attainment .................................................................................................................. 30 Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This document is intended to provide background data for use by prospective developers considering a response to the Town of Pictou commercial Request for Proposals for lands adjacent to the Pictou Roundabout. As shown in Figure 1.1, the commercial lands are accessed through a new roundabout located at the Town of Pictou exit from the rotary located on TCH-106. Pictou also has several lots that are suitable for commercial development located in the Browns Point area of Town. Figure 1.4 shows these development areas. This report is based on dissemination area level statistics in: • Demographics and income levels; • Households counts by locations; • Labour force and occupations; • Traffic volumes; and • Relationship of the subject area to existing businesses. 1.1 Catchment Area The general catchment area for this economic profile is shown in Figure 1.2. Community boundaries are defined by the Community Counts web portal of the Nova Scotia Department of Finance, and include the communities of Pictou, River John and Scotsburn. More specifically the communities in western Pictou County include: • Pictou (Bay View, Braeshore, Browns Point, Caribou, Caribou Island, Central Caribou, Haliburton, Pictou, Pictou Island, Scotch Hill, Three Brooks, Waterside, West River of Pictou) • River John (Bigney, Black River, Brook Road, Cape John, Caribou River, College Grant, Dalhousie, Diamond, Dufferin, East Branch, Elmfield, Fitzpatrick, Hedgeville, Hodson, Loganville, Louisville, MacKays Corner, Marshville, Meadowville, Melville, Mountain Road, Plainfield, Poplar Hill, River John, Rogers, Seafoam, Sundridge, Toney Mills, Toney River, Welsford, West Branch, Westerly) Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 1 • Scotsburn (Alma, Campbell Hill, Central West River, Durham, Fitzpatricks Mountain, Four Mile Brook, Granton, Greenhill, Hardwood Hill, Heathbell, Loch Broom, Lyons Brook, Millsville, Rockfield, Rogers Hill, Rogers Hill Cross Roads, Scotsburn, Sylvester) The information presented in this profile was drawn from three main sources: the 2011 Census; the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS); and the Community Counts web portal of the Nova Scotia Department of Finance. Figure 1.4 shows population counts within concentric circles from Pictou. Figure 1.3 shows the community counts for the areas noted above overlaid on the 2011 Statistics Canada map of Census Subdivision A and the Pictou Census Subdivision. Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 2 Lot A Lot B Figure 1.1 - New Roundabout and Commercial Area Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 3 Figure 1.2 - General Catchment Area Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 4 Figure 1.3 - Geographies for the Profile Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 5 Figure 1.4 – Roundabout and Browns Point areas of Pictou Economic Profile for the Western Portion of Pictou County 6 CHAPTER 2 PHASED IN COMMERCIAL ASSESSMENT